Sunday, March 7, 2010

If I were in Husain's shoes....

Guys.... I know, I know.... don't say it. I have gone missing. Pity I am not Amitabh Bachchan. He is one dedicated-to-the-blog dude.... he is at it day after day, no matter what!! I love this space as much as he does , and would love to do the same. BUT!! Last week has been particularly beastly. Next week looks worse. I leave for the Emirates Lit Fest in Dubai, get back on Sunday. And leave for Paris on Monday. Why Paris? Well.... for a book launch. It promises to be super special. Have to keep details under wraps for now. Watch this space...

This also means my blogging will get erratic. But blog , I will!!

This column appeared today. I am bracing myself for more lewd mail.

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Nobody can ever be in M.F.Husain’s shoes, mainly because he doesn’t wear them. Perhaps that’s where it starts – at Husainsaab’s unshod feet. Most of his countless critics believed this was an affectation, even an attention seeking device. I have been present when people have attributed all sorts of silly motives to the artist’s resistance to footwear. He has been labeled a poseur and worse for refusing to trap his restless feet in anything –even chappals. A snooty South Mumbai club famously denied him entry seeing his bare feet ( this was at the height of his popularity in India, and made headlines). The truth is Husain likes to feel the earth under his feet and insists he gets a tremendous amount of energy from that physical contact. But if you imagine Husain never ever wears footwear, think again. Even he is not such an extremist as to walk barefoot while loping around the globe during winter. Meet him in New York, London, wherever during those harsh, bitterly cold months and you’ll find him wearing smart boots to protect his toes from freezing. He knows frostbite does not spare painters – no matter how great. That’s Husain - a pragmatist first and everything else next. The reason I’m stressing on his shod\unshod feet as much is to establish one incontrovertible aspect of the 95- year- old’s fascinating life – Husain may live on his own terms – but he is perfectly flexible when it comes to his own survival. All his widely publicised interviews this week made one thing abundantly clear – if he has to choose the survival of his art over almost anything else, he’d pick art. Why?? Because when it comes to his work, it is his life . Nothing but nothing else matters. We, in India, foolishly asked him to provide an ‘explanation’ for accepting the citizenship of another country. He could have told us to get lost. He didn’t. He knew the implications of his bold decision and realized this went beyond just him. He stated succinctly that he wanted to continue painting in peace. In an environment that gave him abundant love and respect. Period. The projects he’d undertaken were monumental, he needed monumental funding for them and Qatar came up with the right package . Most importantly, Qatar offered him a stress free environment in which to create. He pointed out that tax breaks and monetary considerations were also given their due importance by him. But the bottom line had mainly to do with his personal sense of safety. Surely, at 95, he is entitled to make such a choice without everybody jumping down his throat,denouncing him for turning his back on the country of his birth. A country he insists he will love till his last breath. Is that so tough to accept…. understand? Not if you are ready to switch places with M.F.Husain and ask yourself what you would do in his situation. Let’s face it - India didn’t leave him with much of a choice.One just has to examine the hate mails doing the rounds in cyber space to get an idea of the venom behind the focused campaign against the painter. I was appalled, ashamed and embarrassed to receive several such letters which asked me whether as a Hindu I was so ‘weak’ that I was ‘allowing’ such attacks on our Gods and Goddesses to go without protesting? Some mails carried twenty or more images of these ‘offensive’ paintings which the senders claimed were maliciously painted by Husain to denigrate Hinduism and display his contempt for Hindu deities. The arguments were as shallow as they were cowardly. Given the closed minds behind these emails,there was no point in defending his works . I tried. And received a record number of nasty, abusive letters lewdly demanding, “ How would you feel if he painted you, your mother and daughters in the nude?” Some of the anonymous writers went beyond mere questions and went into explicit, graphic and violent sexual content that is too vile to repeat. If these so called defenders of Hinduism thought nothing of sending pornographic threats to a woman, how could they accuse Husain of insulting Hindu Goddesses? We live in super touchy times. And these are super touchy issues which will be animatedly debated for years to come – much after Husain himself is dead and gone. This unhealthy, awful state of affairs is not new. It has gone on through centuries and will not stop with Husain’s work. As of now, the man has spoken. He is happy with his decision. Why not leave it there? He has the right to live and work in whichever corner of the world he chooses. He has chosen Qatar. Qatar offered him the best deal – monetarily and emotionally. End of story. If we want Husain back all that badly, let’s match the deal…or better it, if possible. That’s how it works, doesn’t it? It’s business, baby. But even if we can come up with the money ( ha!), can we also come up with the level of protection M.F.Husain requires?In one stroke, India’s greatest living artist has proved one thing categorically – he is priceless. Let’s deal with it. India and Indians can no longer afford Husain. Our loss, entirely. Lucky Qatar!

61 comments:

Its an irony that in india we have laws to punish them who insult the "national flag" but we dont have law to punish the criminals who insult the "NATION" itself. Otherwise by this time husain would have been rotting in a well deserved jail. Anyway, request to you even if you cant respect this NATION at least dont insult it.

I cannot agree with you more. I come from a part of the country that exceeds expectations when it comes to development but disappoints every time when it comes to fostering an open-minded culture. I wish more Indians opened their heads as much as they loosen their wallets at the oh-la-la modern format outlets.

We Indians are supers sensitive people. Its so difficult to satisfy everyone. Nevertheless, people who count or are in the lime light should be willing to apologise and do good the damage that might have been caused, be it emotions, art or spoken words. Mr. Husain is a treasure and we all are proud of his many artistic work. He definitely has hurt the sentiments of many Indians under the gambit of art. At 95, if he is immune to these feelings and can rest in peace then so be it.

As for the criticisms one may get after vocalising such views honestly, you siad it, these people who criticise with no left right or centre to their argument are as shallow and cowardly as their ignorant and uneducated thoughts.

If there is a constructive argument to be made to counter this by all means go ahead were ready to talk but if people are going to speak and act blindly they do not deserve or have the aptitude to be part of a debate concerning such an artist.

Well, Shobha, evrything is not black and white...I would excuse Hussain for painting Hindu Godesses in the nude,if he were to paint all other Gods/revered figures of other religions also in the nude.Let us face it, he never apologized for this, knowing that he had hurt the sentiments of a certain section of society.Agreed, we can grant an artistic license, but there are limits too...A case in point is the Danish cartoons.Many countries have stopped imports of Danish products, so as to hit them where it hurts the most...economically!

M.F. Hussain is an artist - a great artist. Every artist does and should express freely with his/her art. In India, a "democratic" country, everyone has freedom of expression and speech. Just like M.F. Hussain has freedom of expression through his paintings, the section of society that felt offended has every right to express their anger/sentiment through legal platforms. A "healthy" debate on this issue is not a bad idea. Having said that, I do believe though M.F. Hussain should have been careful while dealing with a sensitive topic as religion. And if he didn't realize the implications in the beginning, he should have apologized seeing the uproar the paintings have created. We already have so many communal violence related incidences going on, why add more to that? Well, at least I am glad he is now residing in a country where he "feels" at peace with his artistic expression and personal safety.

Hussain is right about energy coming from the soles of our feet. My BKS Iyengar teaches that in his Tadasana posture, where properly firmed feet on the ground aligned with the crown of the head, release energy up your body, relaxing every muscle. Perhaps Mr. Hussain is just intuitively aware of this energy and taps into it most of the time he is able to walk barefoot. Weren't we born barefoot and leave barefoot (unless someone decides to add shoes to our parting feet).

As simple as it sounds. Lucky Qatar! Just like we can accept citizenships of another country being an Indian so can he. Why are there different rules for him?

And when the question of why M. F Husain isn't apologising for his paintings which have now become an issue is faced, it is simple. He is an artist. And any artist would see nudity as purity, beauty...paintings again are to be understood. It is done in the purest sense. It is not porn for God's sake!! As they say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. So if there are people unable to see it's splendor, well he (M.F Hussain) should not be blamed fr their sheer inability to differentiate splendor from filth

wow. so many of the people commenting here still live in the dark ages huh. nice. India has lost a great treasure and instead of mourning the fact people are still thinking abt the "insult" to indians. excuse me but hinduism is not india's official religion, that "indians" should be offended at all by someone painting its god and goddesses in any way they want. also, hinduism is synonymous with tolerance and for its varied varied ways of worshiping. goddesses are worshipped in the nude in many parts of the country. Mr. Hussain created a great work of art and he has nothing to apologize about. if people, even in this century expect everyone else to live like them in the 18th century, pity. and i will again mention i am shocked and sad to see blogger people expressing such narrow minded views. honestly, one person has wrote "do not insult the nation". for lords sake.

Sure, this man Hussain has rightly taken up Qatari citizenship. Qatar that bastion of openness, democracy,secularism,tolerance of other faiths and a great defender of free expression, except of course when it comes to Islam. He is in the right place, well away from us bigoted, fanatic Inidans.Perhaps to show solidarity with the noble concept of free speech and free expression, some of the worthies who defend Hussain's right to free expression should show the way by showing soildarity with this noble concepy and re-publish and exhibit in museums, the works ( ISLAMIST ) of the Danish cartoonist which has caused so much havoc around the world. Come on great people show us the way and light and lead us out from this world of darkness and bigtory!

so called developed brains having an Hindu name first of all should change their name and then migrate to Qatar to do the mourning . This only can happen in India in the name of advancement, try to do it in any other country of world .why the so called atheist prefer to adopt Hindu name they should have names like 123xyz. If you cant praise your dhrama , you dont have right to say against it . Try to do this with other religions.I am not a fanatic Hindu but pity on those who dont know their religion.

It is intriguing indeed that while Mr. Hussain has sought an asylum in a Gulf country to escape the intolerant fanatics of India, Taslima Nasreen has come back to India to face the same intolerance.Is it that she is younger enough in age to face the fanatics than the nanogenarian Hussain. Or that she could not strike a deal with any foreign country??

@ Ramchandran,I couldn't have said it better.Democracy & freedom of expression should never be misusedin anyway.Would people of other faiths tolerate anything like this?I don't agree with youShobha.Hussain is better off in Qatar,goodriddance.There he won't dare pick on (artistically atleast) any local greats(religious or otherwise).He'll be simply decapitated!!!

Hi Shobhaa,Why did Hussain not paint Prophet Muhammad? Have you ever heard of Muslim Goddess? Why does Hussain not tell us more about them through his paintings?Hinduism is a 1000 times more tolerant religion than Islam. That is why Hussain is still alive and we still respect him as a painter but he too should reciprocate that respect. He has broken faith with not only Hindus but also Muslims and others of India.

it seems no intellectuals are around to have prudent comments with ration rather than passion. Indeed the blog is magnificient and powerfully magnetic and I earnestly wish the blog to be read with values. rgrds,salu.

He has accepted a citizenship of an Islamic country which is an absolute monarchy, offers no religious freedom, a tier 3 country that neither satisfies the minimum Human Rights standards nor demonstrates significant efforts to come into compliance; over a secular, democratic India.

Forget drawing nude deities, Islam forbids drawing images of even animal forms! Hope they at least allow him to continue drawing his Ghodas. And now I dare him to draw nude Ayesh and nude Mohammed.

I failed to understand one thing. What makes you to feel that the suggestions to paint you and your significant others in nude is nasty, ugly and degrading while a muslim painter painting Hindu goddess is an art.

Isn't it a confused state of mind from those who considers themselves open minded???

Believe me if he starts making paintings of Queen and Princess of Qatar in nude....you will find his fragile ass hanged to death on one of the bylanes of Qatar.

He got what he asked for...And such idiots can never be pride of India. The only people who say he is pride of India are those who travel a lot abroad and want to look good in the eyes of foreginers.

Lucky Qatar!!! Now let Mr.Hussain paint the god worshiped in Qatar or even the royalty, the same way he did in India and let us see how lucky they will feel and how tolerant they are. I would not have any problem with his previous paintings if Mr.Hussain can paint gods of other religion the same way. It cant be so difficult..is it?? Why this hypocrisy?? Or is it the 'In India "sab chalta hai"' attitude that makes people do such things in the guise of artistic liberty. I would say good riddance...in any case Mr.Hussain was highly over rated and there is no shortage of talent in India.

@Anil Kumar, you hit the nail in the head. There is a lot of hypocracy going on in the name of defending freedom.Good riddance ! I too thought so. But looks like the stupid media will never stop until Hussain makes a come back. That he'll never do until he is kicked back by Qatar.People who criticize intolerance ! Look at their language !@Kaya, "shallow and cowardly as their ignorant and uneducated thoughts" - what a constructive argument !@Rising Gladiator, @Ramachandran,& most of the other bloggers here, I'm with you.And for psuedo intellectuals, you are in the minority.Shobhaa De, Salu (Salman ) has agreed with you !

raa raa raa... Madhuri Fidaa Hussain... has been creating quite a ripple in the media than what the silver screen's original diva Madhuri did when she chucked pistol dhaari Sanju and tied the knot with injection dhaari Nene.

Both are chammak challos of their respective fields... and they both are just visitors to india. Madhuri ka bacchas were born in colarado. and are imported. Madhuri is indias offficial import... and speaks a language that we understand best- Bollywood.

uff.. yummm ... maaa...

I wonder if the people who are protesting or protecting MF hussain know anything about ART. MF hussain is just a nice topic... Unlike his muse who dint irk anyone or invoke any badaa controversy.

At 94, who knows how long he would live, and where is grave would be. And how does that matter.

Also I am happy to lose this kind of assets.... although it is profitable..... Like a buisness house has some Social responsibility... and spend some money.... also not to involve in only profit making activities....

Hussain is an artist. A "great artist" is debatable. That is subjective. I do not think he is a great artist. I consider many others to be better. But that is besides the point.

Is he a master publicist? Yes, he is. He works controversies like a finely tuned violin. He also has great business sense. Given these factors he has made great choices for himself. Good for him.

Is he free to create art? yes, but I am also free to critise his art or his depiction of things dear to me. While not being a religious person, his interpretations have offended my cultural leanings. I dont care if he does not draw cartoons of Islamic figures in a controversial way. What he did annoyed me and there are no two ways about it. There I said it!

Hussain could have stayed if he wanted to really make his point. No one threw him out. He made the concious decision about self exile. He chose something else, when he realised that his style of security would be prohibhitively expensive for himself and that no government can guarantee him immortality. Quatar should be just as happy as India should be now.

Do I think people overreacted to his art? Yeah, on both sides. Both sides are intolerant.

The upholders of "liberal" values of freedom and thier insulting-holier-than-thou-we-know-better-than-you-troglodyte-religious-and-political-identity-seekers-curs.

And also the "conservative" value walas with thier upholders-of-the-desi-way-of-life-and-violence-fixes-all-frustrations-rantings.

Let me go back to fingerpainting with my kindergarten child! So much more satisfying somehow.

I have always admired your artistic skill. This piece goes on to say there aren’t any peers for you. As for Husain, each has his/her own perceptions. And I am not playing god here to judge someone’s ulterior motives. Anyway, the write-up made an interesting read. Thanks.

Bye Bye Husain sahab. We promise , we would not misss you ,whats teh guarantee that if you are left with your artistic freedom , you would not choose other hindu gods (remained to be painted out of 33 crores) to unleash your paint brush upon.We have our hands full with controversies over religion, caste, sect....etc.I hope you understand taht as a perceptive artist and a common man who loves to spend time around dhabas and tea stalls and know the pulse of other common men.And all those pseudo religious guys here- Hinduism is very tolerant. if MFH had chosen to paint cartoons , we would not have minded but nudes? NEEEY! not acceptable.

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This cannot be justified under any circumstances whatsoever! I am not a religious fanatic but when I read such posts from intellects like you I've a terrible sense that something is wrong in this country!

Mr. Hussain is a great artist but his paintings are not just offending, but more seriously, humiliating.

Coming back to the basics, there is something wrong with people like you. I don't say we need to award him a death penalty but yes we should not show an immuturity of pampering him as a 'pragmatic' either.

Hinduism is faith of our majority and somewhere it has to confluence with our nationalism, a fact that is continuously being undermined. World has acknowledged this fact but Indian intellect doesn't is a matter of real shame!

Views like yours harm this country far more than paitings of Hussain or any medieval invasions.

Also, intellects like you should attempt to slightly 'reform' our Muslim and Christian brothers then comment on pragmatism.

Please reply my post. I am available for an open debate on this issue.

Din0410 said... Its very easy become famous in India!! How? Not by hard work, intelligence, Just write some thing controversial on twitter, defame Hindu goddess, sketch dirty paintings ( and then sell for million dollars ) , support nations who are our enemy. You will become very popular... this is the way we preserve our democracy...

If you are indeed Sidhu (Sikh) just try to paint GuruNanak ji into nude holding his baton with both hands

If you are a disguised muslim with the name as 'Sidhu' then try to paint prophet Mohammad in nude chasing a goat.

Just send these paintings by post to Ms. Shobha de, Barkha Dutt and other gatekeepers of freedom of expression in media.

If these money hungry, desperate idiots have got GXXXX mein dum...(in other way guts) then tell them to put ENLARGED copy of these paintings of GuruNanak and Prophet outside their home and offices for a month and send one copy to Shiromani Gurdwara prabandhak committe head and Imam of Jama Masjid.

THEN I WILL CONSIDER THESE JOKERS TRUE GATEKEEPERS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSIONS.

Hope this will give the necessary boost to create a truely tolerant and peace loving community in our own backyard.

Interesting. I've read the most interesting posts on this blog & yes we do have a kind of unity here. It's nice to know a community of people having same thoughts in this psuedo intellectual world.@Numerunity - I really appreciate your take on various subjects. I thought you are a chamcha of Shobhaa De. But now I see you have a mind of your own. I've always seen that community issues bring the best in people & they flock together.@Anil Kumar Well said Anil. When I hear Shabana Azmi & Sharmila Tagore holding a flag for Hussain, I feel that they don't really care a damn for us...we who made them what they are ! I've started liking the Shiv Sena after listening to these communal actresses. And I'd love to see the Danish cartoons !

I want to tell Ms. Shobha De how tolerant we (Indians) are. MFH had the guts to paint our gods and goddesses in nude and even went to the extent of painting Bharat mata in the same way (for th so called seculars). We dont want his head but only his apology and an assurance that he wont repeat such acts. We are very different from the people issuing fatwas to the Danish cartoonist. We are not going to weigh his head in gold. Do not consider me of the likes of religious fanatics. I am a right minded and rational individual who just do not want to sit and watch issues turning up. We have to take a stand somewhere. Most of the people commenting here have no affiliation towards any particular hardline religious orgaization. I think you must be surprised to see so many right-minded individuals opposing MFH, if you are liberal enough to do so (better than typecasting people).Also a reply to the people of the likes of Sidhusaaheb, the carvings on Khujraoh temples, some of which are erotic in nature are of humans and not of Hindu deities. The idols inside the premises houses Hindu and Jain deities. Get your facts correct before commenting. This shows how much well informed you are on the topic being discussed.

i completely agree @Sushant, @Prasad, @Balvinder, @Dr. Mahesh...how bout the muslims issuing fatwa to Sania Mirza coz she wears a short skirt for playing tennis? M happy tht MFH is gone.....if he was not getting enough freedom in India nowhere else can he get it....dis is one of d worst decisions of his life IMO

also Ms. Shobha De says "Qatar came up with the right package" and you included love, respect, monetary and tax exemptions and stressed on security......and u carefully avoided freedom of expression from this. This shows you are a wonderful writer. Bending opinions in your favour. But it also shows you are biased, akin to hardline religious fanatics, mentioning only what suits you and not painting an entire picture. Also, Qatar might suit him well as it is tolerant towards what he paints today, but that might not remain same if he changes. I hope you know the point i want to make across.

I posted this on another article regarding Husain:A man who consistently and deliberately targets a particular community through his paintings ought to be punished. We are tolerant despite his misdeeds. What more freedom could he have expected here? - All people did here was file cases in courts against him.If he paints religious symbols or women in a derogatory manner in some of the Islamic nations, he probably would be decapitated in public.

Someone here made obnoxious comment about Madhuri Dixit. Madhuri was always dignified and kept herself out of any scandal. Despite efforts by media to link her with actors (which they do for all stars). Madhuri always maintained her dignity and politely denied all rumours against her and lived upto her comments by her actions and by her future course of life. No point to bring her here.

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